True 7.1 surround sound in headsets

[zjohnson988654]

I'm looking to get a new headset, and true 7.1 surround sound seems like something that would be very useful for gaming, but I'm a bit confused with some things.

One thing I'm confused about is the differences between the Asus strix 7.1, and the Razer Tiamat 7.1. From my research, these seem like some of the best headsets with true 7.1 surround sound. They both have 10 different speakers for surround sound, and people generally seem to think of them in the same way, but the Tiamat is way more expensive, which makes me assume that it is more advanced. I'm wondering if anyone would like to help me understand their differences better.

The other thing I would like more information with is sound quality: both the Strix and the Tiamat have below average sound quality. I was wondering if the settings would allow for changes in different sound elements that could make it sound better depending on the game you are playing.

Thanks in advance!

 

[gamerk316]

The biggest problem with 7.1 headsets is they have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to fit that many drivers in each cup; audio quality typically sucks. In addition, you have very harsh cutoffs as audio transitions to each driver, which while OK for FPS gaming ruins immersion for everything else.

I've found most virtualized 7.1 implementations (generally Dolby Headphone) give a subtle enough 7.1 without outright destroying audio quality. I tend to recommend against 7.1 headsets as a result.

 

[sizzling]

I have the Tiamat 7.1 which also require a good sound card to drive them. They have the best surround sound positing compared to all 2 driver headsets I have tried but there are compromises in sound quality for the reasons mentioned by gamerk.

However even though the positioning is the best of any headset I have tried it’s still really poor and very vague positioning. Having gamed with a 7.1 speaker setup where you could pinpoint every sound the Tiamat’s are still very poor. A lot of the time I prefer gaming on my relatively cheap (£120) Bose headset (forget the model name). The sound quality beats any gaming headset I’ve tried and I just don’t miss the virtual surround sound. Personally I came to the conclusion that surround sound in a headset is a gimmick. From something I read last year apparently most professional gamers only use stereo.

 

[sizzling]

Forgot to say, virtual surround sound compromises sound quality as the perception of directional sound is achieved by distorting the sound, I believe mainly through pitch and tone from what I read.

 

[zjohnson988654]

The biggest problem with 7.1 headsets is they have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to fit that many drivers in each cup; audio quality typically sucks. In addition, you have very harsh cutoffs as audio transitions to each driver, which while OK for FPS gaming ruins immersion for everything else.

I've found most virtualized 7.1 implementations (generally Dolby Headphone) give a subtle enough 7.1 without outright destroying audio quality. I tend to recommend against 7.1 headsets as a result.

Thanks for the help; I'll look into different kinds of headsets

 

[gamerk316]

Forgot to say, virtual surround sound compromises sound quality as the perception of directional sound is achieved by distorting the sound, I believe mainly through pitch and tone from what I read.

Virtual surround certainly distorts the audio by modulating pitch/tone to give a sense of direction; I still prefer that to true 7,1 headsets though.

That being said, I mainly do stereo for the reasons you noted. I only break out virtual 7.1 when I was still doing competition.

 

[Frag Maniac]

The only multi driver headsets I've ever seen consistently good reviews on as far as channel positioning is the Psyko ones. The way they were able to achieve accurate positioning is by placing only one sub driver in each ear cup, and the rest in the headband. The ones in the headband have tubes that run along the headband into the earcup to delivery and precisely aim the sound. The way they are able to have them perceived in different positions is not just the placement of the tubes, but by slightly changing the ms timing of the sound.

That said, they are heavy, tight fitting, and mediocre in sound quality. The Corsair used to be the most consistent for good reviews on sound quality, but having virtual surround you're limited to Dolby Pro Logic II. The reality though is it's better to have good sounding DPLII, than mediocre sounding true 7.1, or even good sounding 7.1 that has positioning issues.

Anymore there's lots of headsets with good sound quality though. Often times it comes down to a matter of fit, comfort, features, and price, and even the type of sound can be personal preference. I still think the ultimate is a decent set of headphones with a dedicated mic on an articulating boom arm, but of course costs more, and lacks portability.